When the government crosses the line — and when it doesn't.

The First Amendment only stops the government. If a private company fires you for your political views, the Constitution probably doesn't protect you — but some state laws might.

You have a constitutional right to protest in public spaces. Police can impose time, place, and manner restrictions — but they cannot shut you down just because they dislike your message.

Students don't lose their rights at the schoolhouse gate — but schools can restrict speech that substantially disrupts the educational environment. The rules differ for on-campus and off-campus speech.

When a public official uses their social media account for government business, blocking critics may violate the First Amendment. The Supreme Court clarified the rules in 2024.

Multiple federal circuit courts have held that recording police in public is protected by the First Amendment. But the rules on audio recording and interference vary by state.

SLAPP suits are designed to silence critics through the cost of litigation. California's Code of Civil Procedure § 425.16 gives you a powerful early exit — and makes the plaintiff pay your attorney fees.

California Labor Code §§ 1101-1102 prohibit employers from controlling employees' political activities or affiliations — protection that goes far beyond what the federal First Amendment provides.

California's Student Free Expression Act (Ed. Code § 48950) gives high school students stronger protections than the federal Tinker standard. Here's what California students can — and can't — say.

California Penal Code § 148(g) explicitly protects your right to record police in public — one of the clearest statutory protections for police accountability in the country.

California's Constitution (Art. I §§ 2-3) provides broader protest protections than the federal First Amendment. Here's what you need to know about permits, public forums, dispersals, and the Leonard Law.